Chuck Stone's accomplishments in journalism are extraordinary and prolific. He was a columnist for The Philadelphia Daily News for nearly 20 years and held editor positions at Harlem's New York Age, the Chicago Defender and the Washington Afro American.

Just a couple days away from the NABJ convention and I can't stop thinking about New Orleans. Is it the gumbo? No, maybe it's the sounds of jazz and splashes of French culture dancing down the scorching hot streets.

If you believed in President Obama on Election Day, when did he lose your trust? Was it when he announced that he supports gay marriage? Was it due to his inability to speak to and act upon the issues that affect your group?

If you are ever convicted of a felony in the state of Florida then you might as well change your name to Dred Scott because when it comes to voting you have no rights that the state is bound to respect.

In 1960, a terrible car accident involving seven of my family members brought the relationship between racism and health care into stark relief. My father lost his wife, mother, sister, brother-in-law, and 4 year-old nieces, all for the purposes of maintaining white supremacy.

Black clergy from the Conference of National Black Churches ("CNBC") joined forces with the Congressional Black Caucus ("CBC") in Washington, DC for a first ever summit last week to discuss new voting laws, voting registration strategy and empowerment of the black vote.

The right's strength is its ability to immerse itself in tribal warmth of sexist, racist, homophobic waters, while simply sprinkling the rest of us with their refreshing mists. And they are refreshing. Admit it.

When employed correctly, private equity plays a productive role in driving economic growth and innovation essential to our recovery. Despite what you see on television and read in the news, neither Mitt Romney nor Bain Capital represents the entire private equity industry.

Barack Obama has never forgotten who he is or where he came from. He has fought every single day to improve the livelihood and well-being of the African-American community. And in a second term, he'll only build on the monumental achievements of his first term.

The very people who brazenly vote against things like medical marijuana and the right for gay people to get married, now regard Coca-Cola as enshrined in the Constitution, as if Dr. Pepper was one of our Founding Fathers.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg may think he's helping to curb obesity in New York City with his new proposal to ban sugary drinks over 16 ounces. In actuality all he is doing is providing fodder for conservatives who have long warned against government encroachment in the healthcare arena.

The outcome of the debates between the president and Republicans in Congress matters. The direction we choose will affect the lives of poor children in the Bronx and throughout our country. We owe it to them to be clear about the choices we face.

Whose bodies and lives will this grand social vision of a post-racial world benefit especially when considering the counter-investment in notions of "blackness" that post-racial propagandists seem to maintain?

The NAACP's support of marriage equality further debunks the myth that black folks are more homophobic than anyone else. Perhaps the key to this battle is to position the issue as supporting equality and the constitution versus any interpretation of religion.

Reading about the Reverend Wright attack ads, it's clear to me that we are all still fearful of confronting our own racial anxieties. They remind me just how far we've come as a country but also how much further we need to go.

About The Current

"Power & Politics" will focus on how African Americans occupy the political space in the U.S. The reporting and writing will surface and add context to the conversations that are taking place in the black community involving the candidates and elected officials, laws and initiatives, power brokers and corruption, and influencers and advocates. Power & Politics will check facts and include primers on the issues people care most about.